


Red White and Blue Me and You.

by CristinaBlackthornKingson



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: American Politics, Babies, Baby Names, Best Friends, Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Brother Feels, Brother-Sister Relationships, Brotherhood, Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Children, Children of Characters, Divorce, F/M, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Growing Up, Kings & Queens, Lawyers, Little Sisters, Marriage, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Mother-Son Relationship, Motherhood, Newborn Children, Other, Politics, Pregnancy, Princes & Princesses, Protective Older Brothers, Protective Parents, Royalty, Siblings, Strong Female Characters, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:28:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24574582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CristinaBlackthornKingson/pseuds/CristinaBlackthornKingson
Summary: A story about the births and earlier lives of The Claremont-Diaz Siblings and The Royal Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor Sibilngs. How do Ellen and Oscar cope as first time, young and poor parents. How will they juggle work and advancing in their careers while also raising two children? How does having children affect their already rocky relationship?And what about Princess Catherine? What happens when she tells her already disapproving mother, that she and Arthur are expecting their first child? What were Henry, Philip and Bea's childhoods like? What was life like for them before their mum became engulfed by grief and their father passed away?
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz & June Claremont-Diaz, Arthur Fox/Catherine Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Beatrice Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, Ellen Claremont/Oscar Diaz, Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Philip Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 2
Kudos: 16





	Red White and Blue Me and You.

Catalina June Claremont-Diaz is born on a warm Spring day in Texas, in 1995, to 26-year Ellen Claremont and 28-year-old Oscar Diaz. 

Ellen and Oscar had not been married long when Ellen unexpectedly fell pregnant, they both knew they wanted children but had had agreed to wait a few years, until they were secure and settled in their jobs and fields, Ellen currently works as a lawyer and is slowly but surely making her way into the world of politics, while Oscar has been working as a policy analyst since he got out of college. 

Though the pregnancy had been a surprise, it was a welcome one, Oscar and Ellen knew they were ready to raise a child, and though money was tight, their child would never go without. 

So far Ellen’s pregnancy has been pretty smooth and easy going, all her checks up have gone well, she only suffered slightly with morning sickness and her aches and pains could be better, but could also be worse. They never have any concerns about the baby’s health, they’re always kicking, especially when they hear Oscar’s voice, Ellen can’t count the amount of times she’s snapped at her poor husband to please be quiet for five minutes so the baby will stop kicking. 

Ellen is now only 3 weeks away from her due-date, but because money is tight, she has no choice but to continue to work. A lot of the time she is able to work from the office or from home, but today she needs to be in court with a client, she is not looking forward to it (She’s always been seen as inferior in the business, because she’s a woman, but being a pregnant woman is even worse and no one takes her seriously anymore and she is always the subject of disapproving, withering glares and condescending attitudes.) 

Ellen had woken up with horrible back ache this morning, if it were any other day she would call into the office and tell them she would work from home today, but because she has to be in court, she can’t skip work unless she literally goes into labor, even then she could probably keep going for a few hours. 

“Ellen are you sure this is such a good idea?” Oscar asks in a concerned tone, as Ellen struggles to get her skirt over her bump.   


“I don’t have any other choice Oscar, I told my client I’d be there unless this baby was literally about to come out, which she’s not, so I have to go, and besides we need the money.” Ellen tells him, tugging at the zip.   


“I know, I’m just worried about you and the baby, like I always am.” Oscar softly says. Ellen smiles and squeezes his hand, he is a big softie at heart, bless him. 

“I know but it’s okay, it’s small claims court so nothing too serious, it’ll probably just take 5 or 10 minutes, but you know I can’t waste a second of maternity leave, I need it all for when this little one makes her arrival, I want to be able to stay home with her for the first while, to build our bond.” Ellen explains, patting her stomach.   


“She’s not gonna have a name if we don’t settle on one soon.” Oscar points out, causing Ellen to groan. Both she and Oscar are very proud and stubborn people, and both have one boys name and one girl name they want to use, they’ve agreed on the boy's name but they have different girls' names and neither will back down. 

  
“I just think naming her June when she’s going to be born in June, is a bit on the nose, I think Catalina is far better, there’s lots of nicknames to be made from it.” Ellen argues, pulling on her high-heels.   


“It’s too long, can you imagine the poor kid trying to learn how to write her name and having to spell it for people all her life? Everyone knows how to spell June! Anyway, we don’t even know if we’re having a girl, we could end up having a boy, our little Alexander.” Oscar retorts.   


“Alright you know what? I’m the one carrying the baby, I’m the one who was going to have to push her out of me, so I think it’s only fair that I get to decide on her name, so how about this, Oscar? We call her Catalina June Claremont-Diaz, we’re both technically getting our way then.” Ellen suggests. Oscar could argue more, but he actually agrees on Ellen’s point about her being the one doing all the hard-work, so she should get to choose the name.   


“Fine.” Oscar concedes. Ellen grins triumphantly. “Good, I have to go or I’m gonna be late, see you this evening.” She says, before leaning in and kissing his cheek.   


As Ellen drives to the courthouse, she starts to feel her back pain become more intense, but simply writes it off as the heels messing with her spine, really being 9 months pregnant and wearing high-heels is not a great idea. 

20 minutes after arriving at the courthouse and meeting with her client, Ellen is standing outside the Courtroom with her client, waiting to be called in at any minute. 

2 minutes later, just as the courtroom door swings open, Ellen feels a popping sensation in her lower stomach and seconds later there is a gush of water from between her legs. 

“Holy shit!” Ellen exclaims, staring at the puddle in disbelief. After a few seconds, her eyes travel to her stomach and she frowns. “Really? You couldn't have waited one more day?”   


“Um, should I call an ambulance?” The Clerk standing in the doorway asks in an awkward tone.   


“Hell no I’m not forking out on an ambulance for a little amniotic fluid, just get me a towel and somewhere to sit where I can also call my husband to pick me up and take me to the hospital.” Ellen says in a stern tone.   


20 minutes later, things have progressed significantly, Ellen was shown to a small private room in the courthouse where she could wait for Oscar, but it’s been twenty minutes since she called him and he’s still not here, and they only live a 5-minute drive away. Ellen’s pains are coming on fast and strong now, and she is convinced that she’s about to either give birth in the courthouse or in the car. 

“Oscar Diaz!” Ellen yells down the phone. “Where in the name of God are you?!” She would have yelled more, but another contraction has taken hold of her body, and all she can do is try and breath through it.   


“I just pulled up, I’m sorry, I got stuck in traffic! Do you need me to come in and help you out?” Oscar asks in an apologetic tone.   


“No Oscar it’s fine I’m only having fucking contractions! Of course I need your help you shit!” 

Thankfully they make it to the hospital on time, though only just. Ellen has just settled on the labor ward when her midwife tells her it’s already time to go to delivery. 

Her labor is fast but very painful, and she is going to castrate Oscar if he ever dares so much as look at her again, Afterall he was the useless idiot who didn’t put the condom on right. (Never mind the fact that Ellen refused to take birth control, not wanting hormones to mess up her body) 

After pushing for only 20 minutes, Ellen is rewarded for all her hard work, by the sound of a loud and high-pitched wail sounding through the room. Before the midwife can even wipe the baby down at all, Ellen reaches down to the bottom of the bed and scoops her baby up into her arms and onto her chest. 

“Oh, um, Ellen we need to clean her down and weigh her.” One of the nurses says in a nervous tone. 

  
“Not yet, you can do that later.” Ellen insists, holding her daughter close. The nurse looks to the midwife who nods, and then steps back. Ellen looks down at her daughter’s little face and feels her heart swell with an intense and fierce love for her, if anyone ever tries to harm a hair on her head, they will be extremely, extremely sorry. 

“Hello.” Ellen softly says, pressing a kiss to the baby’s head, which is covered with a mop of brown hair that seems to be a perfect mix of Ellen’s blonde hair and Oscar’s black hair. “Oh, you don’t really look like a Catalina do you baby girl? I hate to admit it, but I think your dad might’ve been right for once, I think you’re a June.” Ellen hates to admit to being wrong, but looking at her daughter she just can’t fathom ever calling her Catalina, she’s June, no doubt.   


“June Catalina then?” Oscar hopefully asks. Ellen shakes her head.   


“No, lets still put Catalina June down on her birth cert, but we’ll call her June.” Oscar doesn’t see the point in this (Other than Ellen being too proud to back down.) but once again knows better than to argue with her, especailly just after she’s given birth, he doesn’t want to fight when their daughter is only minutes old. 

“Okay, Catalina June Claremont-Diaz it is then. Our little Junebug.” Oscar softly says, running a hand over the baby’s mop of hair.   


“We made a pretty cute baby, huh?” Ellen softly says, resting a hand on June’s tiny back and holding her close. Oscar nods.   


“We sure did.” He agrees, putting his arm around his wife and daughter. Ellen smiles softly up at Oscar and quietly says   


“I love you.” Oscar smiles back and leans down to softly kiss her.   


“I love you too _Mi Amada_.”   


Over the next few days and weeks, Oscar and Ellen settle into parenthood, and try not to argue too much, though being who they are they inevitably end up arguing over the smallest of things, like what clothes to put June in, how long she should sleep for, how many pictures taken of her is too many, etc. 

Unfortunately, Oscar doesn’t have a lot of time off work for paternity leave, not paid anyway, and they really need the money. So when June is only 4 weeks old, Oscar is left with no choice but to go back to work, which leads to more arguing in the end, at the end of the day Ellen is exhausted from handling a newborn by herself, and Oscar is exhausted from work, so they end up snapping at each other all the time. 

When June is 4 months old, even though she is still supposed to be on maternity leave until just after June’s 1st birthday, Ellen’s skills as a lawyer are requested by a client who has a pretty simple case but is willing to pay a lot of money. Ellen agrees to take the case straight away and invites the client (A man in his 40s named Roger Joyce) to the house, for the first meeting. Of course, Oscar was not thrilled at the idea of Ellen inviting a stranger into their home where their 4-month-old daughter is, but at the end of the day he knows Ellen isn’t stupid and wouldn’t invite this person to their home without doing a background check on him. 

Ellen had been hoping June would be asleep for the whole meeting, in her bassinet, but when the day comes June is extremely clingy and fussy and refuses to be put down for any length of time. So Ellen tucks her up in a sling wrapped around her torso and chest, gives June a pacifier (those things are life savers) and feels pretty proud of herself for coming up with this solution. Looking in the mirror just before her meeting starts, in her collared shirt, blazer, pencil skirt and heels, with her baby wrapped up close against her chest, Ellen feels like one hell of a bad ass working mom. 

“Who says women can’t have careers _and_ a family, huh June? We’ll prove them wrong; won’t we baby girl?” Ellen proudly says, dropping a kiss to her daughter’s head.   


Just then the doorbell rings (Luckily not waking June) and Ellen makes her way downstairs and to the front door. When she opens the door and sees Mr. Joyce standing there, she smiles and holds out a hand for him to shake. 

“Hello Mr. Joyce, how lovely to meet you.” She confidently says. Mr. Joyce just stares at Ellen for a few seconds, or more specifically at June, and never accepts the handshake. “Please come in and we can start on reviewing your case and such.” Ellen breaks the silence, stepping back to allow her client to step into the house.   


“I wasn’t aware we would have company for this meeting.” Mr. Joyce says in a cool tone, with a hint of annoyance.   


“Hm? Oh, June? Oh don’t worry about her she’s fast asleep, I was hoping to have her in her bassinet but she’s is being a fussy young madam today and wanted to be close to her mama, but don’t worry she won’t bother or interrupt us, once I have her close to me she’s happy.” Ellen calmly replies, resting her hand on June’s back, over the sling. 

“I see, well isn’t there anyone else who could look after her for an hour or so?” Mr. Joyce asks.   


“No I’m afraid not, my parents don’t live in Texas, my husband is at work and his parents live in Mexico.” Ellen replies, doing her best to keep her calm.   


“Right, well I’m sorry Miss Diaz_” Roger begins, but Ellen immediately cuts him off.   


“Claremont, Mrs. Claremont, I didn’t take my husband’s name when we married.” She corrects him.   


“Well Mrs. Claremont, I’m afraid this simply isn’t going to work out.” This is not something Ellen had been expecting, and shocks her to her core.   


“What? Why?” She asks in a confused tone.   


“I thought I was hiring a lawyer, not a mother.” Mr. Joyce says in a cold tone, which replaces Ellen’s shock with anger.   


“I _am_ lawyer, and I’m also a mother, a woman can be both.” She replies through gritted teeth. 

“Not in my opinion, I do not believe mothers should work outside the home, how can I trust that you won’t turn up in court with the kid strapped to your chest? I’m sorry Miss Diaz, but I will no longer be needing your services.” With that, he turns on he his heel, opens the door and leaves.   


“ _Bastard._ ” Ellen breaths in a disbelieving tone. “Did you hear that crap Junebug? What an asshole. Clearly, he’s intimidated by strong women like me, but don’t you worry, I’m going to prove assholes like him wrong, one way or another, and make the world a better place for you to grow up in.” 

Over the next 3 years, both Oscar and Ellen work their asses off, while also being loving and attentive parents to June, always making sure to put her first, taking time off work when she’s sick and needs her parents, going into work late to take her to her first day of daycare, leaving early to pick her up, and in general making sure their little girl knows how much she’s loved and cared for. 

When June is 3 years old, just a few months after her birthday, after days of feeling extremely nauseous, Ellen finds out she’s 2 months pregnant, which is both a terrifying and thrilling discovery, no doubt life with two children will be very difficult, but it will be more than worth it and June will be such a wonderful big sister.

Ellen had planned on working through majority of her pregnancy this time too, however that all goes out the window when things start to go downhill and become complicated. It starts when she’s 3 months pregnant and wakes up one morning to blood in her underwear. She and Oscar immediately rush to the nearest Early Pregnancy Unit, where thankfully it’s found that the baby is fine, the midwife determines it as a threatened miscarriage and instructs Ellen to rest and take it easy for a few weeks, and then come back in for another scan to be sure everything is okay. 

Then at a regular routine checkup at 16 weeks, it’s discovered that the baby is going through something called Intrauterine Growth Restriction, or IUGR for short, which means the baby is smaller than they should be, which is of course very worrying. For the rest of the pregnancy, the baby is closely monitored by ultrasound and Ellen is prescribed bed-rest, meaning she has to leave work earlier than planned, but of course she doesn’t mind once it’s for the sake of her child’s health. 

June's eagerness to meet her brother and her love of talking to the bump and how clingy she's being towards Ellen, does not help Ellen feel better through the pregnancy, though she can't wait to see June and the baby together, being heavily pregnant, having pregnancy complications and having a 3 year old constantly clinging to her, makes Ellen even more exhausted than usual. 

Currently she is 36 weeks along, exhausted after a sleepless night thanks to the baby constantly kicking her in the ribs, standing in the kitchen with Oscar who is making dinner, and June who loves watching her dad cook, though at the minute she's not too interested in what her dad is doing, rather she wants to feel her brother kick, which normally Ellen loves but right now she is so exhausted she feels as though she can hardly stay on her feet. 

"June-bug I know you're excited to meet your brother and I'm sure he's excited to meet you too, but you're gonna have to give me a break for a minute baby girl, you two hype eachother up already and I'm very tired." Ellen softly explains to her daughter, who has been clinging to her side with her hands all over the bump all day, babbling non stop to the baby, which usually makes him very active and in turn makes June extremely hyper and giddy. Ellen adores her daughter's bright and joyful personality, but the kid could break glass with how high-pitched her squeals of delight are. 

"But mama I loves him!" June protest, doing her best to wrap her small arms around her mother's waist and resting her cheek against the bump, melting Ellen's heart with how adorable she is. Ellen laughs lightly and rests a hand on June's back. 

"You and those big eyes my June-bug, you are just too cute." Ellen softly says, holding her daughter close. 

"Oh I'm definitely framing this one." Oscar's voice joins the conversation and Ellen looks over to see him standing there holding a camera and grinning at she and June. Oscar loves to take pictures of their little family, Ellen's surprised he hasn't put the camera in her hospital bag for when the baby's born.

"I swear if you try and and take pictures of me in labor I will boot you out of the room myself." Ellen lightly says, as Oscar comes over, lifts June into his arms and settles her on his hip, before putting an arm around Ellen and kissing the top of her head. 

"I give my word _Mi Amada,_ I'll be too focused on you and our beautiful baby anyway. Though you can't deny this is a beautiful picture." Oscar lightly says, showing Ellen the photo he just took. In the frame are June and Ellen, June with her arms around her mother's waist, her head resting on the bump and Ellen smiling while resting a hand on June's back. Oscar's right, it is a beautiful picture. 

"This is one for the album, and for their 21st birthdays, to embarrass them in front of their friends."

One week later, at 37 weeks Ellen’s waters break almost an entire month early. Luckily, her mother had decided to come a month in advance of the baby’s due date, so she can take care of June while Ellen and Oscar are at the hospital. 

Unlike her labor with June, this time Ellen’s labor is long and drawn out and very, very painful. After 10 hours of labor, just when Ellen thought things couldn’t get any worse, just as the midwife sits down to check Ellen, she gives them more bad news. 

“Mr. Diaz.” The midwife calmly says. “Could you please press the emergency buzzer by your wife’s bed for me?” This of course immediately sends them both into a panic. 

“Emergency_? What, why?” Oscar asks. 

“Do you know what a cord prolapse is?” The midwife asks. They both shake their heads. “Well it’s when the cord slips out and through the birth canal before baby does, and it’s very dangerous because when baby is coming out, their head can crush the cord and therefore cut-off blood and oxygen supply to baby, from the placenta.” 

“I-is that what’s happening to me?” Ellen asks in a shaky tone, as Oscar hits the emergency buzzer. 

“Yes, it is, so we’re going to need to take you straight to theater for an emergency Caesarean alright?” The midwife calmly replies. All Ellen can do is nod, she is totally in shock. 

“Will I be able to go into theater with her?” Oscar asks hopefully. 

“No Mr. Diaz I’m afraid not, but we will keep you updated and let you know when baby is born and how they and Ellen are doing, alright?” The midwife tells him. Oscar simply nods. 

As Ellen lies on the operating table just waiting to hear her baby cry, she really thinks it cannot possibly get any worse than this. But of course, she’s wrong. 

When she does hear her baby cry, the cry is low and weak, not at all like June’s loud howls of anger at being born. 

“I-is he alright? My baby is he okay?” Ellen asks the nurse standing closest to her. 

“How’d you know it’s a boy?” The nurse asks, as if this is time for small talk. 

“Didn’t know for sure, just had a feeling. Is he okay? Can I hold him?” Ellen asks again, panic growing in her tone. 

“I’m afraid that because of the IUGR baby is going to need to spend a few days in NICU, he’s a little small so we need to keep an eye on him and make sure he gains weight at a healthy rate, once they’ve got him settled into NICU you and your husband will be able to see him.” 

Thankfully the baby only ends up spending two days in total in NICU, but those two days are extremely hard for Oscar and Ellen, only being able to hold your baby for a restricted period of time before putting him back in an incubator is horrible, so when he is discharged from the NICU into regular pediatric care, Ellen never wants to let him go. 

3 days after the baby’s birth, Ellen’s mother brings June in to meet her baby brother. Oscar had met them in the lobby and showed them the way to the ward, and when Ellen sees Oscar walk back onto the ward with their little Junebug by his side, her heart lifts, she had missed June so much, much more than she realized. 

“Mama!” June exclaims, letting go of Oscar’s hand and running to her mother’s side. 

“Hi baby girl, I missed you!” Ellen says in a joyful tone, as Oscar lifts June onto the bed beside her. June immediately wraps her arms around Ellen in a tight hug, not realizing that she’s leaning right against Ellen’s scar. “Oh, careful baby girl, careful of mama’s tummy okay? I love your hugs but you gotta be a little gentler for a while okay?” She softly explains. June simply nods and snuggles into Ellen’s side. 

“Hey CJ, you wanna meet your baby brother?” Oscar softly asks, carefully lifting the baby from his crib by Ellen’s bedside. June nods eagerly as Oscar sits down next to her so she can see her brother. 

“This your baby brother, this is Alexander Gabriel Claremont-Diaz, but we’ll mostly call him Alex.” Ellen softly says. June peers at her brother curiously for a second, before declaring 

“My Alex.” She leans forward to stroke her brother’s hair and kiss his forehead. “Loves him, he my baby, my Alex.” 

“Oh yeah? So you’re going to change his dirty diapers then, right?” Oscar teases. June wrinkles her nose up in disgust and shakes her head. “No? You just gonna do all the fun stuff with him, like show him all your favorite toys and teach him how to walk and talk?” June’s face lights up at this and she nods vigorously. 

Over the years June and Alex become fiercely protective of one another and are totally inseparable. When June starts school when Alex is one and she's 4, Alex cries all day until she gets back, then immediately lights up when he sees his sister. Instead of crawling into bed with Oscar and Ellen in the middle of the night, when Alex learns to climb out of his crib he climbs into bed with June, and she’s more than happy to let him. He absolutely idolizes his big sister and hates when they aren’t together. 

One day when Alex is one and June is four, Ellen catches them in the kitchen, June attempting to pour milk from the carton into a bottle, and Alex hoisting himself up on the washing machine door to reach the draw with the utensils. 

“Do I even want to know what’s going on in here?” Ellen asks, after taking a minute to comprehend the scene in front of her. 

“Alex wanted a bottle of milk so I’m making him one!” June exclaims, as Ellen plucks Alex off the washing machine door and hoists him onto her hip, then goes and gently takes the carton of milk off June before she can pour even more of it all over the kitchen counter. 

“It’s a good job you two are so darn cute or I would pretty mad right now.” Ellen sighs, putting an arm around June and kissing her head. “Honestly, I dread the trouble you two are going to give me when you grow up.” And how little does Ellen know, just how right she is to dread what her kids will get up to when they grow up. 


End file.
